I have and that is going to be the route in the near future, but the Very near future requires a solution that will involve a bit of "safe" rigging. Wondering what other people are doing or have been doing themselves for the past few years. Thank you for the input, it is much appreciated.

Meagan... I use solar all the time to charge my 12 volt  batteries... Don't use your vehicle lighter socket unless your motor is running or it will drain the battery in your vehicle and you won't be able to start it... I keep two batteries handy... I got on Amazon and found 5 amp solar panels cheap, for solar... 5 amp is like a trickle charge on a 120 volt charger... I bought two in case one gets broken or whatever, or you can twist the pos and neg wires together and get 10 amp in full sun...  at the same time I ordered a 12 volt 7 amp solar charge controller... I wish now I had gotten a  10 amp to match when I use both panels in parallel ... The charge controller will control the charge so you don't overcharge your battery, it does the same thing the built in regulator in the alternator in your car does... you can also hook two batteries together parallel pos to pos and neg to neg and charge as your using them... You can use any amp solar panel you like, I just found the 5 amps on sale, but by all means get the charge controller... They are relatively inexpensive... Hope this made sense and is of help...

I went to your page and saw the you only use a small sump pump ... my setup is to run at least three sumps and they are pretty large, on my patio.... one for a A-52 sluice... one for a ribbed mat recovery, one for a blue bowl and plenty of juice left over... if you are always near a vehicle just start you engine hook a good set of jumper cables from your vehicle battery to the battery you use on your sump as long as its 12 volt and charge it that way.... the drawback is your using fuel to run the vehicle...

Perfect, thank you .very Very much appreciated.

It looks like this is for some type of recirculating system which usually has a very small draw. I would suggest a second battery and a set of jumper cables until you can get a solar charger. Make a safe location to transport the battery, box lined with plastic or better yet a plastic RV battery box (about $7.00 over internet at camping world). Best not to store in area that you are sleeping if RV or in area that you are riding in your car, suv or pickup. Can be a used or old battery as long as it holds a decent charge. It looks like your equipment you are using would not have much of a draw of power. If or when the power gets short, start vehicle and attach jumper cables to batteries. With about ten minutes of run time you should be good for a day or two if not more.

I have 2 12 volt 10Mah sealed lead cell batteries I charge at home before I leave on a trip. They cost about $25 each and run my bilge pump recirculation system all day on a charge.

Excellent idea Walter, I am soo glad that I asked, I'm sure that others like myself with little ones have similar safety concerns, or should. The lead batteries can leak gas, acid or even explode if misused. And misuse is usually UNINTENTIONAL and not known until it's too late. Not as simple as a 9v alkaline.Thank you all your input. Sean, Meagan and tiny.

Hi Meagan:

   I'm don't know if this is to late or not, but Auto Zone in my area is having a sale on a solar set-up with trickle charger for $19.00 and some change.

I'm also not sure if the same sale would be going on in your area or not.

Hope this might help.

 

Have a great time and always find color in your pan...!

 

Troy

  I think the best setup would be 2 batteries and a car charger. Charge one while you use one.

 Here's a note: Modern cars have two types of setups for the plugins. One turns off when the engine is turned off and the other stays on all the time. My Ram has both types. By the way you can't hurt the vehicle with a charger, it is fused.  My gold wheel has a lead/acid gel cell. When it dies, I will replace it with a lithium battery They hold there charge for a year in storage.  Hope this helps,  Frank...-